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Saint Joseph
Memorial Days - March 19, May 1 (Saint Joseph the Worker)
Patron Saint of
the Catholic Church, adoptions, adoptive parents, bursars,
cabinetmakers, carpenters, confectioners, craftsmen, the dying and
death, engineers, expectant mothers, families, fathers, home seekers,
immigrants, married people, unborn children, wheelwrights and working
people.
Wards against doubt, hesitation, homelessness, unholy or unhappy death.
Saint Joseph was an ordinary man whom God called upon to do great
things. He did exactly what the Lord wanted him to do without delay or
question. The Bible refers to Joseph as "a just man" (Matthew
1:19). In Hebrew, a good and faithful servant of
God (Genesis 7:1, 18:23-32, Ezekiel 18:5, Proverbs 12:10).
A just man is honorable and charitable toward his neighbor
(Tobias 7:5, 9:9).
We know little of Saint Joseph other than that he was a "Son of David",
betrothed to the Virgin Mary, foster father to Jesus, a just man and a
simple carpenter. Scripture refers to Jesus working with Saint Joseph in
his youth. Saint Joseph used his hands to create useful things as they
were needed.
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